Consequences of Conflict on N. Ireland

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Consequences of Conflict on N. Ireland
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Peaceful Protest Marches vs Violence
Civil Rights movements started in 1960s -
demanded equal rights - protested against unfair
treatment of the Catholics - made peaceful
demands for basic rights such as housing,
jobs, education and voting - Civil Rights
Movement in 1968 was a beginning of the period
called the Troubles
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• How did the Protestants react to these marches?
• - Protestants reacted with hostility and violence
• - Saw the movement as an attempt to weaken the
  government

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• In 1969,
• the British Army was sent to Northern Ireland to
  help keep peace
• - Catholics welcomed their protectors (thought
  that the British Army was neutral)

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In 1971,

• N. Ireland government introduced the internment
  laws
• These laws gave the British Army the power to
  arrest, interrogate and detain without trial,
  anyone suspected of being involved in any acts to
  weaken the government
• - Catholics soon lost faith in the British Army
  when the army started to search their homes and
  made arrests

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• In 1972,
• - A peaceful civil rights march was shot at by
  the British soldiers
• - 13 civilians were shot dead and many more were
  wounded
• - This incident is called the Bloody Sunday
  incident
• - It marked the beginning of violent conflict
  between the Catholics and the Protestants

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Violence

• The Catholics suffered at two fronts
• 1. The Protestant Mob
• Catholic homes were petrol-bombed by Protestant
  mobs forcing families to flee
• Their homes were looted
• Catholic businesses and pubs were burnt and
  destroyed

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• 2. Security Forces The Police and British Army
• The police did help to ease the tense situation
• The British Army attacked Catholic homes and
  damaged their property.

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Involvement of Irish Republican Army (IRA)
- IRA was an illegal organisation formed by the
Northern Irish Catholics - Its mission was to use
violence to rid Northern Ireland of the British
Army and the representatives of the British
government - Within 2 decades of the conflict ,
many people were killed - IRA was said to be
responsible for 2/3 of the deaths and even the
killing of innocent Protestants
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Effects of ProtestantsCatholic Conflict

• The conflict resulted in
• Political Impact
• Economic Impact
• Social Impact

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Political Impact

• The Civil Rights did put pressure on N.Ireland
  government to change the discriminatory laws
• Political Reform (political improvement) occurred
• N. Ireland government agreed to abolish unfair
  voting system and review schemes for allocating
  government-owned houses

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Economic Impact

• The conflicts created an unstable situation in N.
  Ireland
• Foreign-owned factories closed down as operating
  costs increased (had to pay for damages etc)
• Also, discouraged more domestic and foreign
  investments coming into the country (why would
  you invest in an unstable economy?)
• Revenue earned as a country decreased

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Social Impact

• Education system and prevailing beliefs of one
  another has created an atmosphere of tension
• Catholics and Protestants have been socially
  segregated and do not mix with one another
• This increases the lack of understanding they
  have of one another
• Makes the chance of resolution of the conflict
  harder and increases the rift between the 2 groups

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Hope for Peace in N.I.?

• Attempts at resolutions
• Attempts by the British government made to bring
  about peace (1970s 1990s)
• IRA members of British govt met, but no
  resolution could be agreed upon
• Late 1990s, 4 groups came together to one again,
  talk about peace in N. Ireland
• - British govt
• - Irish Republic of Ireland
• - IRA
• - Northern Ireland community leaders

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• The Good Friday Peace Agreement was reached in
  1998
• Some terms
• A united Ireland could not be brought about
  without the consent of the people living in N.
  Ireland
• A council involving both ministers from N.
  Ireland and Republic of Ireland to discuss issues
  of mutual interests (tourism and fisheries)
• N. Ireland govt to work on decommissioning of IRA
  weapons (putting weapons out of use)

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Is peace possible?

• Does the Good Friday agreement mean that the
  conflict is over?
• Does show some progress in attempting to stop the
  immediate violence
• However, embedded prejudice and discrimination
  will take longer to change

Are the people of N. Ireland ready to make
changes towards peace?